occasionalclimber

Too wet for the Weta

A native New Zealand Weta appeared at my front door during a rain storm. After testing the macro function on my new compact I put him in a dry place outside aga...
Read more

A native New Zealand Weta appeared at my front door during a rain storm. After testing the macro function on my new compact I put him in a dry place outside again
Read less

DC-TZ220

Aperture f/3.3 ISO 800 Shutter 1/40 Focal Length 88/10

upload_date

Jun, 2018

Views

448

Likes

+25

Awards

People's Choice in Creepy Crawlies Photo Challenge

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Magnificent Capture

Superior Skill

Superb Composition

Genius

Emotions

Impressed

Relaxed

Categories

Platinum

Very cool. I do like these ugly little guys.

They're amazing creatures - very 'kiwi's.

Platinum

Did he knock? I fould one wedge into my doormat and unable to free himself. Needless to say he didn't knock.
Great Shot
Mike

No, he was buggered, but I hoped to give him another chance. They're amazing creatures.

Congratulations on your win

Thank you Sandy :-)

Congratulations on people's choice in challenge. Cute little beggar.

Thanks Robyn. I'm glad you can see the cuteness, in an alien kind of way at least :-)

See all

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

Himalayan Griffons, with Ama Dablam behind, Khumbu, Nepal

A Snow Leopard, Melbourne Zoo. Wonderful to be able to see such a magnificent animal up close, but so sad to take away his Himalayan freedom

A dusk view across the tarn to our campsite and Mt Kendall, Biggs Tops, Kahurangi National Park, New Zealand

Philippine sailfin water dragon, Melbourne Zoo

The Pale Orc is one of the most formidable characters in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit movie trilogy. A larger than life model by the brilliant guys

A view down the ridge to Milford Sound from about 1,250m, Mitre Peak, Milford Sound, New Zealand

Native ferns, Marokopa Falls, New Zealand

The top 600 metres of the dormant volcano, Mount Taranaki. Viewed from across Fantham's Peak (1,950m) at dawn, the shadow of the mountain can be

A native New Zealand Fantail, known to Maori as Piwakawaka. In Maori mythology the Fantail was responsible for the presence of death in the world. Whe

A little girl instinctively reaches out to connect as a 'smiling' seal back flips on the wet side of the glass of an underwater viewing cham

Mount Brewster (right) and Top Heavy (left), with Brewster Glacier between. The summit of Mount Armstrong is in the foreground. Southern Alps, New Zea

A contemplative Orangutan, Melbourne Zoo

On the rim of North Crater at dawn, Tongariro National Park, New Zealand

Discover more photos See all

Lioness in the early morning, Tsavo East. Tsavo East was home to the legendary 'Man Eaters of Tsavo'. Two maneless lions that brought the bu by lucasratengmboya

Two male black-veined white butterflies [Aporia crataegi] roosting on a Carthusian pink. by HenrikSpranz

90's Girl and her dog by laceylacersholmen

Onaqui Mnts. sunset moment by DaveLoucks

Arabian horse dancing in the morning mist during golden hour. by katarzynaokrzesik

Last week I was lucky to finally make the trip across to the isolated archipelago of St Kilda.

Located 40 miles west-northwest of North Uist in th by davenelson

I was photographing the Lower Geyser Basin when luck occurred, and a Buffalo herd walked in for a steam. However, this didn't last long as they t by roypope

Ella am Strand von Caorle - die letzten Sonnenstrahlen des Tages by angelikawrndl

Swamp Deer from Kanha National Park India captured in the morning sunlight. I have used color grading to make it a moody and cinematic shot. by AbhinavS7

Behind The Lens

Location

In August, winter, on a wet gloomy day in Wellington, New Zealand.

Time

Afternoon.

Lighting

This shot was taken indoors on my kitchen bench, under natural light from the nearby window.

Equipment

A Lumix TZ2200 with a 24-360 lens. The zoom setting was 24mm, ISO 800, F3.3 and shutter 1/40 sec.

Inspiration

Wetas are indigenous to New Zealand. I’ve always been fascinated by them. While they look scary, mostly they just try to keep to themselves. This one was a youngster not faring well in the winter rainfall. He (you can tell because he didn’t have a female curved egg laying ovipositor) was lying exhausted outside my front door. I carefully picked him up and took some photos inside, before finding a dry spot outside again for him to hopefully revive and carry on.

Editing

Adjustments in Camera RAW to bring out the details and texture in the image. Then polishing and use of adjustment layering in Photoshop to optimise light, clarity and sharpness on the head.

In my camera bag

I love the mountains, so as little as possible - at present a Nikon D750 camera body, a Nikkor 24-120 small zoom and the 55-300 bigger zoom, a spare battery and beaten up lightweight tripod - good for hiking. If I'm going for a summit then it's even less - a compact Lumix TZ2200 with mirrorless through the lens digital view finder, full manual operation and RAW file capture - absolutely great when you still want to control your photography but need to keep moving and can't afford to have stuff hanging off you.

Feedback

Take the opportunity when it presents itself. Until I opened my front door photographing a weta was the furthest thing from my mind.

See more amazing photos, follow occasionalclimber

occasionalclimber

occasionalclimber

Too wet for the Weta

A native New Zealand Weta appeared at my front door during a rain storm. After testing the macro function on my new compact I put him in a dry place outside aga... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow occasionalclimber

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

A native New Zealand Weta appeared at my front door during a rain storm. After testing the macro function on my new compact I put him in a dry place outside aga...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.